For public safety personnel, there is little more frustrating than responding to a life-saving call, when seconds count, and not being able to find the address. Fixing this problem is a project close to Cheryl O’Connor’s heart.

O’Connor, the director of the Ionia County Equalization Department, and also the county’s address ordinance coordinator, said having consistency in addresses is vital to keeping people safe.

“When first responders go out, seconds count, minutes are wasted searching for an address,” O’Connor said. “When we find an address that is incorrect, we look into it.”

If the address is out of sequence, an ambulance going along may see the numbers go up and turn in the other direction – taking up valuable time, she added.

“If my daughter were at that residence, if I were at that residence, I’d want them to find her or me as quickly as possible,” O’Connor said.

Sometimes she learns of an even number on the odd side of the street – or vice versa – from a first responder who ran into difficulty locating an address. Sometimes it’s from a utility company or other agency. That’s when she notifies property owners that their address number doesn’t comply with the county address numbering system and that they need to change their address.

Most of them make the change. Some decide to appeal. If they do, there is a new board appointed to hear those appeals: the Central Dispatch board of directors.

The county’s Address Ordinance of 2000 was established to provide a uniform county-wide system for numbering structures to help with locating structures. Finding an address quickly enables faster response and location of a structure, particularly by law enforcement and emergency responders in the event of an emergency.

The Ionia County Board of Commissioners amended the ordinance at their Dec. 18 meeting to make the Central Dispatch board the body to hear appeals. Formerly it was an appeal board that included the Central Dispatch director, the Ionia County Road Commission manager and the township supervisor of the affected property owner.

According to the resolution amending the address ordinance, the Central Dispatch board has among its membership four citizen representatives, which will “allow for a more efficient appeal; process and scheduling, and to help provide due process and impartiality to property owners.”

Addresses used to be issued by Consumer’s Energy or the building department, and over the past 20 years that have been numerous issues related to odd-even numbers and sequencing, said O’Connor.

Some people are unhappy about having to make the change, saying “‘We’ve lived here for 50 years,’ and sometimes they appeal,” said O’Connor. “It goes to the board and they decide whether it should be changed.”

Page 2 of 2 - Last year, about 200 people were told they were not in compliance. Ten appealed the decision to require an address change, she said.

When an address is changed, O’Connor notifies Consumers Energy, area post offices and the county clerk. If the resident is a registered voter, their driver’s license and voters card will be updated. She also ensures maps are correct and changes the address for GPSs. She sends out a form that the residents can send to banks and credit companies notifying them of the changed address. Mail is forwarded for one year, O’Connor said, so residents have one year to notify companies they do business with that the old address is not longer valid.

“It’s a really easy process, and it is something that is needed,” she said. “Long gone are the days when responders were all local and knew where everyone lived.”

O’Connor said today an ambulance may come from Grand Rapids if Ionia County rigs are tied up on other calls, and even sheriff’s deputies and state police troopers may be coming from all over the county.

There have been times when responders didn’t get to the person in time, or got to them but it was difficult, O’Connor said. “This really needs to be done.”